[Cz-L] My first day at school,

My first day at school,
It is the end of summer and school is supposed to start, everybody is exited, I will start school.
Tante Fanny took me to school to talk to the principal to find out in which class I will be placed.
Tante Fanny is arguing with the principal, Arthur is 8 years old and you cannot put him in first grade. The principal is asking me all kind of questions to see if I am knowledgeable enough to be placed in second grade. Finally after much debate with my aunt it is decided that I will be going to second grade. I was in Transnistria and lost 2 years of school.
We come home, Tante Fanny and my grandmother start an argument, look at Arthur’s clothes there is no way we can send him like this to school. His clothes are full with “lates” patches and look at his shoes. It was decided to take me to the “schneider” tailor around the corner. After arguments and haggling, the tailor takes my measurements and tells us to come back in a week for the first “probe” fitting. The suit was going to be made from a Russian military blanket; it is a very ruff material and every time that I wore that suit the collar rubbed my chin.
We come home and my grandmother looks at my shoes and says that I need new shoes.
They take me to a “schuster” shoemaker in the Herrengasse. Again a long discussion and haggling and finally it was decided that shoemaker is going to make me a pair of “bokantschen” boots. I also got a new shirt and later back to the Herrengasse to purchase a new toothbrush.
A week later we go back to the tailor, we enter his atelier and he not there. My aunt goes over to the kitchen to look for his wife to ask the whereabouts of the tailor. The wife yells, not again with the mishugas. She opens the closet in the atelier and in there is our tailor hiding. My first fitting was not ready. The wife starts to yell at him telling him to finish my suit and not play games.
A week later, just before school begins I have my suit and boots. I am very excited, and when time comes for bed, I will not take of my suit or boots off.
Later in the year they buy me a “kufaika” a cotton padded jacket, “valenky” felt boots and a “kubanka” a Russian fur hat, to be ready for winter.

First day in school, Tante Fanny takes me to school and leaves me at the student’s entrance. After asking several kids, I find out that my class is on the first floor and the first door.
We all stand around waiting for the bell to ring. I look down and there is my cousin Rudi who is in the tenth grade, she yells at me, “Arthurel come runter ich will dich sehen”, Arthur come down I want to see you.
Arthurel, “Du sieht aus wie eine Puppe in Deinen neuen Anzug” you look like a doll in your new suit. She kisses me and tells me to be a good student. As I walk up the stairs there is my cousin Arthur der Grosse who is in the 9th grade and his brother Ziggi who is in the 7th grade.
The bell rings and we all stand up to great our teacher. The lessons are in Yiddish, I have a little difficulty understanding as at home we spoke German, but after a sometime I start to understand.
The second day our teacher comes over to me and tells me that I have to have my hair cut.
A day later, the teacher calls me and asks me why I have not cut my hair and not to come to school tomorrow without having my hair cut. I will not cut my hair, after the camps where you had to have your hair cut I was not going to cut my hair. I tell the teacher, the girls don’t cut their hair why should I cut mine. It does not help, the teacher gives me a letter to give to my parents, I take the letter to my aunt and she writes something. I return the next day to school and give the letter to the teacher and this time she tell me to go home and not to return without having my hair cut.
I am quite worried and hope that my father will not find out. I leave the school and walk down the Siebenbirgerstrasse towards the Prut River. On the way back I stop at the Herrengasse and with the few kopecks which I had I buy myself a soda. By this time, it is mid day and I walk home for lunch. The next day the same, I am thrown out of class, but now I have my routine, slowly I walk towards the Prut River and on way back I buy myself a soda at the Herrengasse. On the 3rd day, I have some extra Kopecks which my Onkel Shoil gave me and it is just enough for a movie. I stop at the Apollo cinema in the Herrengasse and see a Russian version of “Romeo and Juliet”.

I had beautiful blond hair “mit schrint” parted on the left and I was not going to cut it. Two to three days later I am back in school and I tell the teacher that I will not cut my hair and that’s final.
The teacher finally gives in and lets me stay in class.
I won. I persisted, I never gave up and I stood my ground.

      
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Received on 2011-01-05 13:06:06